Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.
Claimer: I own all of my original characters.
I know it's a bit short, but…it's just short. :P. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up soon as well, but until then here's chapter 4! Anyway, please read, review, and let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks!
Chapter 4: The Geisha House
Northern Japan, 1339
Whoops and hollers came from the inside of the geisha house and it was apparent that many guards were enjoying the entertainment. I personally never liked geisha houses; women exploiting themselves for money, the attention of men, or out of sheer boredom, but I do suppose that a person should choose their own fates. I shook my head of these thoughts as I climbed to the roof of the geisha house and opened the latch to the skylight once I reach the top. After the hatch was open, the shouts of the boards became louder and giggles of geisha's became audible as well. I slowly eased my way in, trying not to catch the attention of a guard or geisha girl, and closed the roof hatch after me. I climbed my way to the ground slowly, trying to stay in the shadows, which became difficult in the lantern light and the bright pink everything of the geisha house. When I feet touched the floor I backed against the wall, keeping out of the way of dancing ladies and excited guards.
The stage was full of makeup wearing young ladies dressed in kimonos, dancing with fans with the silk from their dresses swaying and large smiles on their faces. Each one had at least three different boars drooling over them; whistling, reaching up to try to grab at them, or just plain trying to get on stage. Other women were walking around the geisha house, trays of sake in small cups being balanced on their paws as they tried to weave through the swarm of men. The geisha house was normally full, but I haven't seen it this full in a while…which made me wonder why it was so crowded. I shook my thoughts again, knowing I had to focus on my task before I blew my cover or the girls stopped dancing. It was always best to rob the guards when they were being entertained my dancing geishas…considering their awareness was horribly low when their eyes were fixed on the swaying arms and hips of a geisha.
I slide my cane in and out of the pockets of the guards with ease, stealing the coins and other trinkets from them. The lust filled guards didn't notice me stealing them blind, they were blinded themselves by the geisha women dancing on stage in front of them. As I inched closer to the stage, I could smell the strong odor of perfume and assorted flowers…iris flowers, wisteria, bellflowers, autumn leaves, plum and cherry blossoms. The strong scent of cherry blossoms made me stop in my tracks, hidden under the shadow of the stage, and think about Kasumi. She always smelled of sweet, fresh cherry blossoms and I had the brief thought that she was here. But, I shook the thought from my head and realized how absurd it was. Kasumi was still at her restaurant, closing the shop down and cleaning up from the day's mess. I glanced to the women on the stage, trying to show myself that Kasumi wasn't here. And I was right, out of the twenty women on stage, the thirteen that I couldn't see weren't my Kasumi-san. However, I did see Miwako, the white Persian who was friends with Kasumi. Why was Kasumi associating with a geisha? She had more self respect than to exploit her body like a true geisha did. I slid away from the stage and back behind the row of boar guards. They were still excited, but many were seated again, telling me that the dance was almost over.
I ducked into a shadow, keeping an eye on the stage when Madame Geisha stepped out onto the stage once the dancers stopped. The large rhino had a wide smile on her face with her arms stretched out wide to the crowd. The men clapped as the geisha's bowed, filing off the stage and standing at the front near the men and they allowed Madame Geisha speak.
"Gentlemen," she cooed to the guards, "I would like to give you many thanks to each and every one of you for showing gratitude to our lovely geisha women!" the men whooped, hollered, and clapped again, "Now that their dance is over for the night, I want you to meet our lovely maiko's." she motioned with her arms to the back of the room. A line of younger women strolled into the room, each standing next to a geisha. A maiko was a geisha-in-training and these women were not yet allowed to entertain clients of the geisha house.
"Now there is something special about them, gentlemen," Madame Geisha smiled, winking to the men who game excited murmurs in their seats, "They will soon go through mizuage." The men whooped again, clapping loudly and whistling at the women. Mizuage was a ritual that would make them geisha's. In order for a maiko to become geisha, she had to sell her virginity to a client at the geisha house. I shook my head at the thought of what these women had to do and started backing up so I could leave. I'd already picked the pockets of most of the guards, with the exception of the ones in the very front, and was yawning regularly. Well, I started to leave until a particular face caught my attention.
"It can't be…" I whispered to myself. I decided to stay, wanting to figure out the identity of this particular maiko. I watched the women, tuning out what Madame Geisha said and simply tried to see if my suspicions were true.
I didn't know how long I'd been standing there, but it was apparently a lengthily amount of time. By the time my attention snapped from the young female to everything else, the geisha's and maiko's were walking from the room in a single line. They were heading back to the back of the geisha house, but I still hadn't completely identified the woman. And if she was who I was afraid she was…I needed to be sure of who she was. I snuck around the guards who were now fixed on the dancing Madame Geisha. They were walking out in a pattern, geisha, maiko, geisha, and maiko. As they formed a line, I searched for the maiko I'd been looking at. I finally found her at the very end of the line, the last woman walking to the back. I waited for the line of dancers to pass me before I darted down the hall behind them; the last one keeping my attention. The corridor they walked down was darker and there were more private room; rooms that would make a young girl a geisha. I crept behind the final maiko, keeping my eyes on her as we finally made out way out of sight. I waited until she had passed a hallway that would lead to another branch of the geisha house before I snuck up behind her, grabbing her by the back of her kimono and clamping a paw over her mouth. She screamed against my paw as I pulled her with me down the hallway, trying to fight as best as she could. I slide a paper screen door open with my foot, pulling the two of us both inside before sliding the door shut. I pulled the young female to where the moonlight poured in through the window, for the room was dark, so I could see her face. I turned her around, firmly gripping her wrists as I tried to look through her makeup.
"Let go of me you dirty, sleazy, drooling…Rioichi?" her face turned from one of fear and concern to anger, "Rioichi!" she tried to pull away, but I kept a hard, tight grip, to where my knuckles were white, on her wrists; almost fearing that I would leave a bruise on her delicate skin and small wrists. I shook my head as I looked to the woman, not wanting to believe that she was here in the moonlight of the geisha house, that she was a geisha, dancing for and entertaining lust driven men for money.
"No…no," I looked into her face and into her eyes, felt her small frame pressed to mine and knew her sudden anger better than anyone; seeing all of those things combined with the sweet, sweet smell of cherry blossoms and chicken both and I knew it was her, "…Kasumi?